370 



Fishery Bulletin 97(2), 1999 



obtained an Ljai 138.8 cm, slightly smaller than that 

 obtained by other authors; differences may be due to 

 duration of the growing season, because greater 

 amberjack studied by other authors came from 

 warmer climates where growth may have been more 

 rapid. Our comparison of observed recapture lengths 

 with predicted recapture lengths (Fig. 7 ) further veri- 

 fied our age-estimation technique. Of interest was 

 our observation that this method tended to under- 

 estimate fish size at sizes larger than 80 cm. Because 

 most of the tagged fish were collected off south 

 Florida, it is possible that they grow slightly faster 

 than those off Louisiana. 



Conclusion 



Our analysis provides evidence that greater amber- 

 jack from the north-central Gulf of Mexico are moder- 

 ately long-lived, living up to 15 years. They demonstrate 

 a sexual dimorphism, where females grow larger than 

 males, but this appears to be age related because 

 males die younger. Our use of sagittal annuli is vali- 

 dated for only two- and three-year-old fish and future 

 studies will be needed to complete age validation. 



Acknowledgments 



Funding for this research was provided by the U.S. 

 Department of Commerce Marine Fisheries Initia- 

 tive (MARFIN) Program and Louisiana State LTni- 

 versity Coastal Fisheries Institute. This study was 

 originally submitted as an M.S. thesis to the Depart- 

 ment of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisi- 

 ana State University, by Marty Beasley. 



We thank David and Louise Stanley for their field 

 and laboratory assistance. We also thank the staff of 

 Mobil Oil Co. for their support in the work done at 

 the West Cameron 352 platform, Charlie Hardison 

 for access to his charterboat catches, and the many 

 staff and fishermen of the Louisiana saltwater fish- 

 ing rodeos for assistance in sampling greater amber- 

 jack entered in the rodeos, and Jay Geahgan for his 

 statistical assistance. 



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